New covenant church on schedule to open this fall

By Susan Douglas
ECC

On March 15, 2005, Chairman of the Rainy River Evangelical Covenant Church, David Peters, announced a leap of faith and plans to build a new church, at a dinner held at the Rainy River Canadian Legion. Peters quoted from the bible, Phillipians 4:19 “ And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
New Church Building Chairman, Rick Boersma has also quoted the title of a favourite hymn, “Another Year is Dawning”, which also suggests the Rainy River Covenant Church’s present situation- ‘on the brink of change.’ The local church has been building a 152x80 foot, wheelchair accessible facility between Atwood Ave. and Broadway Ave., west of the town yard.
Project Co-ordinator, Mark Douglas said, “Our five year building plan, which began with meetings in 2004, is online, with expenses within budget, and a projected move in date for no later than fall 2009. We could not have accomplished this without the help of the entire community, their prayers, and financial support! This entire project has been volunteer driven with very little spent on paid labour, including volunteers from other churches around the community as well as south of the border.”
The leaded glass front doors open into a spacious ceramic tiled foyer leading to the secretary’s office on the right or the large coat room on the left.
On touring the facility you will see that the oak kitchen cabinets have been installed, along with a large commercial stainless steel sink unit, dishwasher, and flooring laid. The sanctuary has been painted in an ivory, with all the antiqued chandeliers hung, and now awaits carpeting. The capacious Fellowship Hall (16 feet high) has been completely primed and the bottom four feet sprayed with Spackle, a type of orange peel affect. Other rooms are painted, and the flooring installed in the sunny library. The large washrooms also contain oak cabinetry with a ceramic tile throughout, as does the wheelchair accessible restroom. Douglas says, “Our next project will be the installation of the suspended ceilings in side rooms and duct work. We are so thankful for all that has been accomplished!”
Pastor Kors Pater added, “Our congregation asks the Lord to abundantly bless everyone for the sacrifices they have made to enable us to continue work! We covet your prayers also as we desire each individual to know Jesus in a deep and intimate way, and to learn, know, and appreciate the importance of loving and serving God and each other. This project is being carried out according to God’s timing and to His glory.”
“We know people are anxious to get in,” Gord Armstrong stated, ‘but only God can see the perfection of his timing, we cannot run impatiently ahead of him.”
The new building is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to accommodate anyone wishing to participate in supervised work or to drop by for a look.